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JBO: Joystiq Box Office, April 5 - April 9
We can't be gaming all the time, despite our best efforts, and from time to time we'll actually take advantage of the movie-playing abilities on our gaming systems. JBO features our top picks for XBL, PSN, Netflix's Watch Instantly and Blu-ray each week. Recommendation of the Week: The Killer (Blu-ray: $29.99 MSRP, much lower at most retailers) This week's recommendation is a bit tongue in cheek, mostly because the video quality isn't the sharpest in the world. Granted, the source material is 21 years old, but I've seen what they can do with movies like The African Queen and The Wizard of Oz on Blu-ray, so why not one of director John Woo's and actor Chow Yun Fat's best films, The Killer? Still, all of that complaining aside, the film does look better than I've ever seen it look on home video format, and it runs circles around the murky theatrical print I saw back when I was in college. While probably not a disc you'll slap in to show off how much Blu-ray rocks, it still looks fantastic, and it's got a completely new interview on the disc with Woo (where's Yun-Fat, though?) that is well worth it. There's also a Q&A session where he talks about The Killer and Hard Boiled. This is being produced by Dragon Dynasty, a joint company venture from the Weinstein brothers and Genius Products, and I'm hoping things improve a bit in the transfer department. Let's get Chow Yun-Fat's God of Gamblers, A Better Tomorrow trilogy, City on Fire, and Treasure Hunt on Blu-ray, stat. Read on after the break for the rest of our recommendations, then chime in below!
JBO: Joystiq Box Office, February 8 - February 12
We can't be gaming all the time, despite our best efforts, and from time to time we'll actually take advantage of the movie-playing abilities on our gaming systems. JBO features our top picks for XBL, PSN, Netflix's Watch Instantly and Blu-ray each week. Recommendation of the Week: District 13: Ultimatum (800($10) HD, 480($6) SD, to rent) It's Mirror's Edge, the movie! Well, sort of. There's a hell of a lot of Parkour in both, but District 13: Ultimatum has much more plot, explosions and general ass-kickery. Written and produced by Luc Besson, D13:U is set several years after the original District 13 (and no, you don't have to have seen that to enjoy this one), and takes place within the same walled-off Parisian ghetto. This time around, some of the residents of D13 are falsely accused of murdering some cops, which sets up a race against time to contain the situation before the rival gangs blow it out of hand and mass hysteria reigns. Which wouldn't be so bad, would it? Everyone is so anti-mass hysteria. I say bring it on. Especially when there's a ton of Parkour involved, even though the word itself sounds so pretentious. Let's just agree to call it crazy running and jumping. Also, just a reminder that today is the day that The Dungeon Masters is available on Amazon VOD. Go find your lucky 20-sided die, plunk down the $3.99 to rent this (or $14.99 to buy it) and enjoy. Read on after the break for the rest of our recommendations, and let us know what you're watching!
JBO: Joystiq Box Office, December 7 - December 11, plus Joyswag!
We can't be gaming all the time, despite our best efforts, and from time to time we'll actually take advantage of the movie-playing abilities on our gaming systems. JBO features our top picks for XBL, PSN, Netflix's Watch Instantly and Blu-ray each week. With the holidays in mind, we're going to be giving away ... wait for it ... MOVIES with each Joystiq Box Office post on Friday from today through January 1! Simply leave a comment below telling us what you'll be watching on your Xbox, PS3, PC, PSP, DS, OMG or whatever, and we'll pick two winners at random each week to receive a nifty prize. This week we'll be giving away one copy of Disney/Pixar's amazing Up and one copy of the romantic comedy The Ugly Truth. Now before you cringe in terror over a Katherine Heigl / Gerard Butler romcom, consider this: It'll make your movie collection look sensitive. Both movies come with an additional digital copy that you can stick on your computer, your PSP, your iPod, what have you. Read the complete rules at the end of this post, and good luck! [Update: The entry period has closed.] Recommendation of the Week: The Mel Brooks Collection (Blu-ray, $139.99 suggested retail) I can't recommend this set highly enough. First of all, it includes nine Mel Brooks films: Twelve Chairs, To Be Or Not To Be, Silent Movie, History of the World: Part 1, High Anxiety, Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, Spaceballs and Robin Hood: Men in Tights, many of which are making their Blu-ray debut. Second, it includes a ton of extra features: just the Young Frankenstein disc alone is loaded with tons of fun stuff, including a "Blücher Button" for instant horse whinnying sounds. Third, it's packaged in a long case containing an artbook about all about Mel Brooks and his movies called "All About Mel Brooks." Fourth, it's Mel Brooks, and you need a few laughs in high definition. Amazon has this right now for $92.99, whittling it down to almost ten bucks a movie. You won't be sorry. Read on for the rest of the recommendations, and as usual, we'll see you at the popcorn sta -- well, actually, we won't see you at all. But you catch our drift. Plus, be sure to tell us what you'll be watching, or what you've seen recently that bowled you over.
Xbox Dashboard update preview invites out this Friday
Major Nelson, Xbox Live guru and prolific tweeter, has announced that the first wave of notification emails for the Xbox 360 Dashboard update preview should go out this Friday. Incidentally, sign up is now closed, so no more applications will be accepted. The preview will give Xbox Live members a chance to check out the many new features in the upcoming Dashboard update, including Twitter, Facebook, Last.fm and the new Zune Video Marketplace. Also, as we reported earlier today, Microsoft has thrown in a preview of Halo Waypoint as well. The preview program should roll out sometime next week. In the meantime, keep an eye on those inboxes!
Video Preview: Xbox Live Fall 2009 Dashboard Update, Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm and more
The November Xbox Live Dashboard Update -- which brings Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm and the Zune Video Marketplace to the Xbox 360 -- will soon be here. Joystiq has nabbed the update early, and we're here to share all of its secrets with you in the only way that we know how: A video tour! Above, you'll find a brief tour of all the new features. If there's a specific feature you'd like to know more about, simply click one of the the words below to watch a more detailed video all about it.Note: We learned after publication that the abnormally priced movie rental has not yet been released in theaters. As such, it has a higher price. Facebook Twitter Last.fm Zune Video Marketplace Miscellaneous
Xbox 360's new Zune, Last.fm, Facebook and Twitter features detailed on video
We just got a pretty detailed look at Microsoft's upcoming Dashboard update for the Xbox, which brings with it the Zune Video Marketplace and Last.fm music streaming, along with Facebook and Twitter social functionality. We were most impressed with Facebook, which includes a feature for spotting which of your Facebook friends have Xbox Live -- a great way to grow that friends list and bring a bit of "synergy" to your life. Last.fm was a bit of a downer, since you can't do anything else while listening to the music, but otherwise there weren't many minuses to the presentation other than the lack of a firm release date. Check out Joystiq's full impressions at the read link before, or watch the whole demo on mind-blowing video after the break.
Zune HD specs fill in the blanks on video format support, battery life and more
Now that everything Zune HD is official and available for pre-order, Microsoft has seen fit to loose official specs, putting to rest -- at least until we can do a full hands on -- questions about what to expect from the OLED touchscreen packing device. From dimensions (52.7 mm x 102.1 mm x 8.9 mm, 2.6 oz) to battery life (24 hours for music with wireless off, up to 4 hours of video) and charge time (3 hours, 2 hours to 90%.) While the official site (incorrectly) currently lists max video res at barely-better-than-DVD 720 x 480, we contacted Microsoft and received the official specs on video support, and if for some reason you needed to hear it again: the Tegra chip is a beast. Ready for HDTV playback when it's plugged into the AV dock, the Zune software supports up to 1280 x 720, 30 frames per second at a max 14 Mbps bitrate for WMV HD and h.264 sources. Confirmed still a bummer? No wireless video streaming from the Zune Video Marketplace, though the specs do indicate that purchases and rentals will work across all three screens, PC, Zune and Xbox 360. Check the corrected specs after the break, now all that's left is getting some alone time with one.Update: Microsoft has hit us with the corrected & updated spec list with a slight change to battery and charge specs: 33 hours of life playing music with no wireless, up to 8.5 hours of video. 3 hours to charge from PC, 2 hours via AC adapter. Hopefully that's long enough to cover your one man rave in the woods far away from A/C outlets. Check the PDF for yourself, but beware, as Microsoft has informed us one typo remains, as the Zune HD can hold up to 22 / 48 hours (16GB / 32GB) of video optimized for the device, no matter what the official sheet says.
Zune HD specs fill in the blanks on video format support, battery life and more - Update: now with more, better!
Now that everything Zune HD is official and available for pre-order, Microsoft has seen fit to loose official specs, putting to rest -- at least until we can do a full hands on -- questions about what to expect from the OLED touchscreen packing device. From dimensions (52.7 mm x 102.1 mm x 8.9 mm, 2.6 oz) to battery life (24 hours for music with wireless off, up to 4 hours of video) and charge time (3 hours, 2 hours to 90%.) While the offical site (incorrectly) currently lists max video res at barely-better-than-DVD 720 x 480, we contacted Microsoft and received the official specs on video support, and if for some reason you needed to hear it again: the Tegra chip is a beast. Ready for HDTV playback when it's plugged into the AV dock, the Zune software supports up to 1280 x 720, 30 frames per second at a max 14 Mbps bitrate for WMV HD and h.264 sources. Confirmed still a bummer? No wireless video streaming from the Zune Video Marketplace, though the specs do indicate that purchases and rentals will work across all three screens, PC, Zune and Xbox 360. Check the corrected specs after the break, now all that's left is getting some alone time with one.Update: Microsoft has hit us with the corrected & updated spec list with a slight change to battery and charge specs: 33 hours of life playing music with no wireless, up to 8.5 hours of video. 3 hours to charge from PC, 2 hours via AC adapter. Hopefully that's long enough to cover your one man rave in the woods far away from A/C outlets. Check the PDF for yourself, but beware, as Microsoft has informed us one typo remains, as the Zune HD can hold up to 22 / 48 hours (16GB / 32GB) of video optimized for the device, no matter what the official sheet says.
Xbox Video Marketplace relaunched as Zune Video this fall
Sounds like Xbox Live Video Marketplace is getting a major facelift as Zune Video Marketplace, with 1080p videos being instantly streamed. Look for the new feature coming to 18 countries this fall.Goodbye Xbox Live Video Marketplace, we'll always have a special place in our heart for you.
